TravelBites: Saratoga Arms Chocolate Chip Cookies

With stormy weather ( Thank you Erika! ) in our near future, we thought this cookie recipe might lift everyone's spirits if you end up stuck indoors for a day or so.

Summer is vacation time...and our MIAbites contributors have been all over the globe; Vancouver, Singapore, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Bangkok, NYC, with the top TravelBites award easily going to The Foodie Teacher and Bowtie Barrister who are still on their " 10 countries in 3 months " adventure through Europe and Asia ( you can follow their travels on TravelEatDrinkRepeat on Twitter or Instagram ).

I personally made a quick weekend trip to Saratoga Springs, NY, ( and not to be confused with Sarasota, FL) famous for it's therapeutic mineral springs and home to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and the famous Saratoga Racetrack, where Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah is scheduled to race this Saturday 8/29. A quaint, yet vibrant town about half hour north of Albany, Saratoga Springs is a peaceful upstate NY summer getaway.

A weekend at the historic 1870's Saratoga Arms boutique hotel included a late afternoon treat of their famous homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies...made with Saratoga Potato Chips. Saratoga Chips were created in 1853 as the first potato chip ever made. Simple ingredients, Non-GMO, Non-Allergenic, Gluten Free and All Natural, and just this week they celebrated the second annual Saratoga Chip Day. The combination of a crunchy and chewy mix of salty potato chips and sweet chocolate chips was delicious and I singlehandedly devoured 5-6 a day.

When I asked The Saratoga Arms owner, Kathleen Smith, about the cookies, she offered to send me the recipe so I could make at home. So here it is...a great BTS treat for your kids...to pack in their lunchbox or have waiting for them at home.

Crunch Ahoy!

Saratoga Arms Signature Chocolate Chip Cookies

( makes about 70 cookies - YAY! )

Ingredients:

· 4 cups all-purpose flour

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 3 sticks of butter, softened, room temperature

· 2 cups brown sugar ( packed )

· 1 cup white sugar

· 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

· 2 eggs, room temp

· 2 egg yolks, room temp

· 4 cups chocolate chips

· 1 large ( 8 oz ) bag of Saratoga Potato Chips ( crushed )

Place softened butter in large mixing bowl and beat until fluffy. Lower speed and add the brown sugar and white sugar one cup at a time. Increase speed again and beat until fluffy. Reduce speed again and add eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Add vanilla extract and increase speed to beat until fluffy ( about one minute ). Turn off mixer.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt and begin to slowly add toabove mixture at low-medium level until combined. Increase speed until mixed thoroughly. Turn off mixer, and transfer dough to a large bowl.

Add chocolate chips and crushed potato chips and mix by hand until equally distributed through dough. Place parchment paper on baking sheet pan and using ice cream scoop place cookie dough balls in rows about 2 inches apart and cook at 325 degrees for about 12-14 minutes or until set but not browned.

Cool and enjoy!

PS- The Saratoga Arms points out that you can also freeze the uncooked cookies by covering tray with plastic wrap and freezing for an hour and then transferring to Ziploc bags for storage.